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A ballistics expert has testified in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius that Reeva Steenkamp was bent down in a brace position as the Olympian shot her. Speaking of the gunshot wound in Reeva's right arm, Cpt Mangena said: "In this instance the deceased was most probably seated in the defence position"...

The Chancellor's plan to build Britain's first garden city in 100 years in Ebbsfleet has been welcomed by some with open arms. The promise of more homes in the south east is a good thing, but 15,000 new homes barely scratch the surface of the real number of properties needed across the country.

Missing evidence, gloveless forensic experts and coached statements of police officials, could be the key to a 'not guilty' verdict for Oscar Pistorius. The murder trial of the Olympic sprinter has so far heard overwhelming evidence of inconsistencies in his version of events on the night he shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp.

The First World War is not normally remembered for its epic battles outside the tranches of Europe, as there was nothing Ypres-like about, say, 'Edwardian' Southeast Asia. We just don't associate it to be as globally engulfing as World War Two. Yet, it would a mistake to think that there were geographical limits to the range in which this first (only if one discounts the Seven Years War) recognisable 'world war' was fought.

We are amid the greatest revolution human life has ever known - the liberation of communication - in the hands of the many as well as that dangerous few. Yes of course the danger is there - the danger that what we call news maybe hijacked, distorted, lied about, propogandised. But today I argue that we stand at the dawn of the golden age of what we have come to describe as journalism. The mediation of information by individuals, collectives, groups, whom WE have the very individual powers to choose.

I was recently neknominated by a friend. For those of you who have been living on a desert island (that has no internet access) for the past couple of months, Neknominate is an internet-spread drinking game whereby the nominated drinks a pint of alcohol (often beer) and then passes on the nomination to someone else via social media...

Students' unions across London including at UCL, Goldsmiths, Birkbeck, and LSE, have adopted 'no-engagement' policies against Student Rights with more unions expected to pass the motion in coming weeks.

Apart from 2014 being the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, the year Glasgow hosts the Commonwealth Games, and that Scotland plays host to the Ryder Cup, the vote on Scottish independence is also being held 100 years after the outbreak of the First World War.

When the UK is hosting a two day international summit on the illegal wildlife trade, involving two future kings of our country and world leaders from fifty nations, all invited by the prime minister, why does the Met police have a team of only five people to fight an illegal trade estimated to be worth $19billion a year? Isn't it time we got serious about this crime?

The trade and policing measures agreed today do not fit the nature and scale of the challenge. Many of Africa's most precious species will soon face extinction unless we tackle this problem at its roots, and keep the door to rainforest destruction closed.

The news that a baby giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo has been shot dead has provoked a storm of worldwide protest. Wildlife enthusiasts are described as 'saddened', animal rights campaigners are furious and petitions are flying around social media demanding the zoo's closure. But not me.